Refrigerating apparatus and method



Dec. 28, 1937. F. H. HIBBERD 2,103,722

REFRJ IGERATING APPARATUS AND METHOD Filed March 23, 1934 IN V EN TOR.

1384c eicfizmbwd Hrs #LTTORNEY 45 evacuated thereby at fixed suction pressure deber or chambers thereof which are in operation 5 Patented Dec. 28, 1937 v v r UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REFRIGERATING APPARATUS AND METHOD Frederick H. Hillberd, Bayside, N. Y., assignor to Ingersoll-Band Company, Jersey City, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application March 23, 1934, Serial No. 716,945

i 23 Claims. (cl. sat-152) This invention relates to refrigerating appation, or completely off and rendered inoperative Iatus and a method of refrigeration, and more so long as the operating pressures remain at especially to a device for controlling refrigerattheir normal Values- Bill; with a refrigerating ing apparatus of the type in which a liquid resystem of the character described which com- 5 frigerating agent or medium i brought down t prises several evaporator chambers and steam 0 the required temperature by the cooling efi t ejectors, connected in multiple and adapted to produced by vaporization of a part of the re Work with either all of its evaporator chambers frigerating agent itself. Y and ejectors, or less than all of said chambers An object of the invention is to provide mechand ejectors in operation, the load can be varied l'J anism for enabling refrigerating apparatus of w n qu te w d y Separated limits d ste the kind mentioned, including a plurality of an be saved at varying a because t nevaporator compartments or chambers, each pt 01 expenditure of D is thus reguequipped with a vacu r d i d t lated according to the need thereof under all carry away the vaporized portion of the refrig- Conditions Of Practical Operationcrating medium, to perform its functions in a y invention i De i i y i ned to be 15 practical manner over a considerable range of employed with refrigerating Sy S' hav n operation, several chambers for evaporating and cooling In refrigerating systems using a non-volatile water d a c e ndi g numb r of steam substance such as water as the refrigerating or j t rs, with pr p r connections to permit p r- 30 cooling medium, an evaporator in the form of a ation at full Partial p y- A further container for water to be chilled is employed. J'ec thereof is o Provide a refrigerating SYS- The pressure in this evaporator is reduced to tem having multiple evaporator chambers and such a degree that when water is admitted ,theresteam ejectors, with delivery means disposed in to at a'given temperature, some of the water is permanent free communication with said chain. vap9rized at I this way a body mass bers and so arranged that chilled water is deof water in the evaporator can b cooled to h livered from only the chambers of the evaporator necessary extent and utilized for the intended which really are in eperatienend use, the water p T water vapor obtained from in any chamber or unit which is cut out being porlzation of part of the water must be removed automatically e therefrom except from the evaporator. and may be accom' sibly a small part thereofwhich may be trapped,

plished by a steam ejector which exhausts to a tha h b m virt u t condenser wherein the discharge of the ejector so t Said 6 am er rem y emp y but sealed, until the operation thereof is resumed,

l u 1i 18 2 :3 evaporator having a single chamber and the previous level of thecontents restored therein.

and steam ejector such a system will serve quite i we at approximately fi d or predetermined Another object of the invention is to provide loads, but it is quite unsuitable for operation a refrigerating systemrhaving a Water evaporawhen the load varies. Hence if such a system with a su t le appliance fo maintaini is built for a rated load it cannot be operated t e wate in the amber 01 Cha bers Of the 40 advantageously to give a reduced output, and if p ato which are in immediate Operation at 40 it is built for a small load the output cannot Substantially constant level. independent of greatly be increased. This is due to the fact the rate of outflow from the evaporator. In its that the capacity of the steam ejector or steam pr f rred form this f ature is s rel ed to the jet booster, that is, the pounds of water vapor evaporator that working conditions in the chamtermined by the pressure in the evaporator itinfluence said appliance and the desired effect self, is constant; regardless of the amount of is automatically obtained. steam being used, and further it is a character- These and other objects and advantages of istic of thesteam jet booster that its steam flow this invention are clearly set forth in the' env a must be maintained at the rated value so long as suing description, taken with the drawing, which 50 the suction pressure (or chilled water temperashows one embodiment of the invention; and ture) in the evaporator and discharge or conthe novel features are pointed out in the apdenser pressure remains constant. Hence this pended claims. The disclosure is, however, iltype of steam jet must therefore be turned on lustrative only, as many alterations in detail completely, using its full rated steam consumpcan be made without departing from the prin- 55 2 ciple of the invention or exceeding its spirit or scope.

In the drawing, Figure 1 shows an outline of a refrigerating apparatus according to the invention, partly in section, and

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional line 2--2 of Figure 1.

In the following, the numeral I is employed to indicate a water evaporator which is divided up by suitable inside partitions into a number of sections or compartments, three for example, indicated at l2, l4, and 16. A water supply pipe or conduit-is indicated at l8, and it has branches 20, 22, and 24 leading to each of the aforesaid chambers or compartments. These branches terminate within said chambers in nozzles or sprayers 26, 28, and 36, each of suitable capacity. The

pressure within any chamber of the evaporator l6 that is working will, of course, be low enough so that when water is admitted some of it will be vaporized at once and the remainder cooled to the required extent. If the temperature of the incoming water is 55 F., for instance, the system can be so designed and the pressure in the evaporator so reduced that the vaporization of a small part of the water admitted will cause the entire mass of incoming water to be cooled down to F. In thebranch pipes 20, 22, and 24 are admission and cut-oifvalves 32, 34, and

36 so that one or more of the nozzles can be shut off whenever desired.

The water thus chilled is withdrawn through a common delivery means or conduit 46 con- 'nected by risers 48, 50, and 52 to the separate of the chilled water to a place where it is utilize to aiford a cooling effect.

To remove the water vapor created by vaporization in the chambers of the evaporator, steam ejectors or evacuators 56, 58, and 60 are used. These are in the form of L'-shaped tubular members which communicate at one end with the inside of the chambers of the evaporatorthrough openings in the top, and are connected at their operation the necessary high vacuum in the chambers to produce vaporizationqof the water therein.

If maximum output is desired, the pipes 20, 22, and 24 are all opened to admit water to the three chambers of the'evaporator; and all of the steam ejectors are employed to carry away the water vapor to the condenser. The chilled water is withdrawn through the delivery pipe 46. To work at reduced capacity andsupply a smaller quantity of chilled water, one or more of the chambers l2, l4, and I6 can be cut out by simply closing the valves in the water and steam branch pipes of said chamber or chambers. The drawing illustrates the chamber l6 as being out of service. For this chamber the level of the water is somewhat lower than in the other two,-because the pressure therein is slightly higher; that is to say, the vacuum therein is less because the steam jet thereof is not active and the -is'resumed and the water therein permitted 6 rise to its former level.

pressure inside this compartment is therefore equal to the pressure in the condenser, which is higher than in'the chambers l2 and I4. The

vrisein pressure in the non-operating chamber is due to the fact that this chamber is connected with the conduit 68 which receives the vapor from the other" chambers. Hence, no vaporizetion takes place in chamber I6 but in the other two chambers the water is still vaporized as soon as it enters and the water vapor is withdrawn through the conduit 68. The chilled water is carried away as before by the conduit 46. The ejectors withdraw the water vapor from the operating chambers and compress up to the pressure in the condenser. The ejectors are therefore sometimes called thermo-compressors.

With this construction the system can be operated under a wide range of varying loads without waste of steam or power. When the system is operating at full load all three of the cham bers delivercontinuously to the conduit 46; but when any one or more of the chambers with its ejector is cut out, condenser pressure is exerted Part of the refrigerating medium is trapped at a lower level in the riser at the bottom, as shown in the chamber l6, whilethe other chambers continue to discharge chilled water through their risers into the conduit 46, and the water in the other chambers is not similarly exhausted.

At all times the chambers, whether in operation or not, are in permanent free communication through the riser pipes 48, 50, and 52 with the conduit 46, and no valves in any of these risers are necessary. In other words whichever chambers are active, are always connected to theconduit 46 to discharge chilled water into same, and the riser leading to the bottom of any chamber which is cut out is likewise always open and enables most of the water to be drained therefrom, or at least acts as a trap or pocket in which a. part of the refrigerating medium can be retained until operation in that chamber to When a chamber is valved out, as shown at l6, the contents will be withdrawn down to a level such as is indicated at H6 in the riser 52. Some water is thus trapped in the riser, and seals the non-operating chamber at the bottom, so that the higher pressure therein cannot be transmitted to any chamber which is operating.

H6 of the water in the riser 62 and the level of the water in the other chambers corresponds to the difference in absolute pressure within the condenser and the pressure within any operating chamber; and the risers are all of suflicient height to sealany non-operating chamber in this manner. This method of connecting the evaporatorchambers through riser pipes to a common delivery conduit greatly facilitates the prompt delivery of the chilled-water and its transmission t the place of use, regardless of the number of evaporator chambers operating, and constitutes Otherwise the remaining chambers could a not function. The difference between the level and connected to be actuated in the desired manner.

This valve may be a rotary valve with an outside arm [8 connected to a rod 88 which passes through a stufling box 82 to the interior of a float tank '84. On a pivot 86 inside of this tank is mounted a lever, having an arm 88 containing a slot 80 to receive a lateral projection on the rod 80, and the other arm 84.0f the lever carries the compartments I2, I4, and I6. In each of the branch pipes I02, I84, and I88 are valves indicated at I88, III], and H2.

At the bottom, the vessel 84 is connected by a conduit II4 to the delivery conduit 46. The

function of this vessel is to enable water to be admitted to the evaporator at a rate which is proportional to the delivery of water therefrom.

The eifect of connecting it, as shown is to enable the water level in such of the chambers as are operative to remain constant, independent of the rate of outflow. 1

It is only necessary to 'open one of the' valves I88, 0, and H2 to establish communication between the vessel 84 and one of the chambers of the evaporator wherein water is being chilled, and to cut it off from any chamber or chambers not operative. The pressure inside the tank or vessel 84 will then be the same as the pressure in the chamber or chambers to which it is connected and water will back up into the vessel 84 through the pipe II4 until it reaches a predetermined height. If the chilled water is withdrawn rapidly, the level of the water in the vessel 84 will tend to drop, and then the valve 16 will be opened further and more water can flow into the active chambers of the evaporator through the pipe I8 to increase the supply. In case the water is withdrawn from the evaporator more slowly the level o'f-the water in the vessel 84 will tend to rise and reduce the intake of water through the pipe I8.

The float 96 and its connection to the valve 18 thus regulate the admission of water to be chilled according to the demand therefor, and since the vessel 84 is connected tothe operating chambers of the evaporator above and below the top of the water therein, the action thereof is so controlled that the volume of incoming water is always kept proportional to the rate at which the water is cooled and discharged from the apparatus.

From the foregoing description itwlll be seen that operation of the evaporator chambers can be selectively controlled by the means consisting of the water supply pipe I8 with the branch connections and valves to the chambers, and the branched steam supply line with the valves therein. Delivery ofthe chilled water takes place continuously through the conduit 46, which is in permanent free connection with the bottoms of the chambers through the branch pipes or risers.

Thus the chilled water is continuously passed acts as a trap or pocket for a part of the liquid to seal the inoperative chamber.

Also the level of the liquid in any chamber or chambers .which may be in operation is maintained constant by the action of the float 96,

on the valve 16, regardless of the rate of outflow of the chilled medium from the chamber or chambers which are active; and, as stated above, it is only necessary that the vessel 84 be maintainedin communication with the top of one chamber wherein vaporization is efiected, the bottom ofthis vessel being always in constant communication with the delivery conduit 46. Hence, because of the connection of the vessel 84 with any active chamber at points which are both above and below the surface of the refrigerating medium therein, the interior of the vessel 84 is subjected to both the pressure head of the liquid contents of such a chamber and to the vapor pressure therein above the liquid. Thedepth of the liquid in the vessel 84 is therefore determined'by conditions inside of any working evaporator chamber, and the valve 16 is actuated accordingly to admit only so much water to be cooled as isrequired.

Q While I have shown and described the .preferred embodiment of my invention, it is obvious ill that many changes in construction and arrangement of the mode of operation may be adopted in practice; and I therefore do not wish to be limited to any combination of parts'except as expressly stated in the appended claims.

. said chambers to render same operative or inoperative, and free outlet connections for said system arranged to withdraw refrigerating medium from a chamber which is inoperative and for continuously delivering the contents of a chamber in which cooling is effected.

g 2. Refrigerating apparatus comprising evaporator chambers for a liquid refrigerating medium, part of which is to bev vaporized therein, means for controlling said chambers to enable a selected chamber to be rendered inoperative, and freeoutlet connections for said chambers arranged to withdraw refrigerating medium from said selected chamber and to continuously deliver the contents of any chamber wherein vaporization is effected.

y 3. The method of controlling refrigerating apparatus 'which consists in selecting one or more chambers of a group thereof, admitting a refrigerating medium to a selected chamber and cooltherein, connections for selectively controlling the operation of said chambers, common delivery means for said chambers in free communication with all of said chambers, and arranged to receive cooled medium continuously from any chamber which is operative and to withdraw refrigerating medium from a chamber which is ing said medium therein, and maintaining all of inoperative and means for maintaining said mev dlum in any chamber which is operative at a substantially constant level.

5. Refrigerating apparatus comprising chambers for a liquid refrigerating medium to be cooled therein, connections for selectively controlling,

bers to receive a liquid refrigerating medium to bev cooled therein, means for selectively controlling the operation of said chambers, common delivery means in free communication at all times with all of said chambers, a vessel and connections actuated from the interior thereof to control the admission of medium to be cooled, said vessel being in communication with an operative chamber above and below the top of said medium therein to maintain said medium in said chamber at a substantially constant level.

7. Refrigerating apparatus comprising chambers to receive a liquid refrigerating medium, said chambers being arranged so that the operation thereof can be selectively controlled, common delivery means in free communication at all times with all of said chambers and connected to the lower portions thereof by separate risers, a vessel and connections from the interior thereof to control the admission of said medium to be cooled,

said vessel being in communiation with an operating chamber above and below the top of said medium therein to maintain said medium in said chamber at a substantially constant level.

8. Refrigerating apparatus comprising 'chambers for a liquid refrigerating medium to be cooled therein, said chambers being arranged for selec tive operation thereof, common delivery means for said chambers, valveless risers connecting said means to the lower part of each chamber,

'- said means and said risers being in. free communication at all times with said chambers, a common supply pipe having valved branches to conduct saidmedium to said chambers, a controlling valve for said pipe, a vessel containing a float connected to said valve, a header pipe connecting the top of said vessel through valved branch connections to the upper part of said chambers and a connection from the bottom of said vessel to said common delivery means.

9. The method of controlling refrigerating apparatus which consists in maintaining a plurality of chambers in free communication at all times with delivery means, cooling a refrigerating medium in -at least one of said chambers, and sealthe higher pressure in said remaining chambers through the connection of said means with said remaining chambers.

11. Refrigerating apparatus comprising chambers for a liquid refrigerating medium to be cooled therein, connections for selectively controlling the operation of said chambers, delivery means arranged to withdraw said medium from a chamber whichis inoperative and to receive cooling medium from the remaining chambers and means for maintaining said medium in any chamber that is operative at a substantially constant level. a

12. Refrigerating apparatus comprising a plurality of chambers for the evaporation of a re- J frigerant, connections from a common supply to admit a refrigerant to each chamber, free outlet connections communicating at all times with common discharge means from said chambers, vacuum-producing apparatus for each chamber having a common discharge header, and means comprising valves to regulate the refrigerating effect in each chamber by controlling the flow of refrigerant therethrough.

13. Refrigerating apparatus comprising a plurality of chambers for the evaporation of a refrigerant, connections from a common supply to admit .a refrigerant to each chamber, free outlet connections communicating at all times with common discharge means from said chambers, vacuum-producing apparatus for each chamber having a common discharge header, and means comprising valves to regulate the refrigerating effect of the apparatus by stopping the evaporation in any chamber.

14. Refrigerating apparatus comprising a plurality of'chambers for the evaporation of a refrigerant, connections from a common supply to admit a refrigerant to each chamber, free outlet connections communicating at all times with common discharge means from said chambers, vacuum-producing apparatus for each chamber having a common discharge header, and means to regulate the refrigerating effect of the apparatus by subjecting any chamber to higher absolute pressure than another. 1

'15. Refrigerating apparatus comprising a plu- -ra'lity of evaporating chambers, a vacuum prorefrigerant may flow freely into a common discharge conduit, and means selectively to suspend the operation of any vacuum producing device to render its chamber inoperative and to subject .said chamber to the pressure of the header to discharge the refrigerant therefrom.

16. Refrigeration apparatus comprising a plurality of closed vessels arranged in parallel, means for introducing refrigerant into each vessel, means for withdrawing vapors from each vessel to maintain a vacuum therein and to coolthe unvaporized refrigerant, and means providing a liquid seal between the vessels.

l7. Refrigeration apparatus comprising a plurality of closed vessels arranged in parallel, each vessel being adapted to contain water as a refrigerant, means for withdrawing vapors of the water from each vessel to maintain a vacuum therein and to cool the unvaporized water, and means providing a liquid seal between the vessels.

18. Refrigeration apparatus comprising a plurality of closed vessels adapted to contain water as a refrigerant, means for withdrawing vapors of the water from each vessel to maintain a vacuum therein and to cool the unvaporized water, and means providing a liquid seal between one of said vessels and each of the other vessels.

19. Inrefrigerating apparatus, the combination of a plurality of evaporating chambers, a pressure-reducing means for effecting partial evaporation and cooling of liquid within each chamber, means for selectively rendering a plurality of said pressure-reducing means operative for a relatively heavy load operation or rendering a smaller number operative for operation at a lighter load, and means for conveyingliquid,

'to be cooled through said chambers including conduit means providing communication between 'duit and including a motivating jet, valves for interrupting or permitting the flow of -motive fluid to the respective jets, means for admitting liquid to be cooled to said chambers, and means for withdrawing liquidfrom said chambers inparallel including a valveless sealing connection providing for a pressure corresponding to the condenser pressurein a chamber whose ejector is inactive and a lower pressure in the other chamber or chambers whos'e ejectors are active.

I 21. Refrigerating apparatuscomprising evaporating chambers 'for a liquid refrigerating medium which is to be cooled therein, means comprising individual vacuum producing devices having at common discharge header for controlling evaporation in said chambers, a common delivery conduit and riser pipes connecting said conduit to the lower portion of each of said chambers arranged to provide a hydrostatic seal for the several chambers.

22. In a refrigerating apparatus employin water as a refrigerant, a plurality of evaporating chambers, means for placing said chambers un-' der vacuum, means for introducing water to said chambers, means comprising a common outlet with individual risers communicating at all times with each chamber to deliver chilled'water therefrom, means to cut off the flow of water to any chamber, and means to reduce thedegree of vacuum in said chamber, the arrangement being such that the chilled water remaining in' said chamber may be discharged therefrom without disturbing the operation of the remaining chambers. I L

23. Refrigerating apparatus comprising a plurality of evaporator chambers to contain a liquid refrigerant, a' pipe to deliver said refrigerant from said chambers, and risers freely connecting at all times said pipe to the lower part of said chambers and forming a trap in which some of the refrigerantv can be retained .to seal a chamber which is rendered inoperative.

FREDERICK H. I-lIBBERD. 

